Aircel’s National Head – Operations and Customer Support Vipul Saurabh believes the surge in the over-the-top (OTT), or app, space is poised to aid data growth which could be at 40-50% for the next two years.Muntazir Abbas | ETTelecom | Updated: September 16, 2016, 18:12 IST

Aircel’s National Head – Operations and Customer Support Vipul Saurabhbelieves the surge in the over-the-top (OTT), or app, space is poised to aid data growth which could be at 40-50% for the next two years. In an interaction with ETTelecom’s Muntazir Abbas, Saurabh said that the telco’s social media strategy helps in packaging right products and services to offer maximum customer delight. Edited excerpts

What is the data growth you have witnessed over the last couple of years? What will essentially lead to this growth in 2018?

We have been able to achieve data growth on the back of a strong high-speed Internet (HIS) network which is expanding by the day along with innovative consumer propositions. Aircel’s growth in the number of 3G consumers has been nearly 10% month-on-month, and witnessed close to 50% growth in data consumption last year. We believe this success is here to stay with us for much longer, as the rapid proliferation of smartphones and economic factors such as increasing literacy and growth in per capita income continues to fuel the demand for data. With the expansion of 3G and 4G networks, wider availability of regional and localized content and the impending explosion in the OTT space will aid the growth of data services, roughly at 40-50% for the next couple of years.

How do you see a seamless data network critical to retain urban subscribers at a time when the sector regulator Trai also opined about its necessity?

The growing needs and changing consumption habits of today’s evolving consumers have definitely shrunken the patience in consumers. Multiple studies have demonstrated a reduced attention span of the modern internet consumer. A one-second delay in page-load time on the web can result in 11% fewer page views, 16% decreased customer satisfaction and 7% lost conversions. Social media, video and audio streaming and e-commerce like other services consumed on-the-go have intensified the need for high-speed mobile data.

What according to you is essentially required for telcos to prevent subscriber churn in this hyper-competitive telecom landscape in India?

It is the age of disruption across sectors today. For a telecom operator, competitive and innovative offerings in terms of price and bundled products to targeted segments, a robust network and strong after-sales support providing quality of service and retailers’ engagement with the company are core to prevent customer churn in this hyper competitive marketplace.

How can social media and smart data analytics play a role in customer delight?

Social media presents to both, the brand and the consumer, the opportunity of engaging in direct conversations almost on a real time basis. These conversations help us understand our consumers a lot better, which when coupled with other market insights help us package the right products and services to offer maximum customer delight. Consumers remain happy with the medium as it empowers them to put forth their viewpoints and if the brand carefully ‘listens’ to its consumers, the results mostly enable a win-win approach to product selling or servicing. Smart data analytics tools take this intelligence to the next level, helping us uncover the customer network of influence, demographics, buying and user behavior, among other aspects, all of which are used to customize offerings and make them more relevant.

Aircel deploys a recommendation engine-based on customers’ profiles and usage trends, preparing the best-fit recommendation for products. This is further aligned with the retailers and call centre agents to offer the same, desired experience to the calling in or walking in consumers, so that the communication is consistent across the chain. Certainly, the effort augments customer satisfaction and helps Aircel to continue winning over more customers than ever.

So, what is your social media strategy and presence across social channels?

What distinguishes digital from other media is the ability to have a two-way conversation. Aircel has a significant digital presence through social communities, blogger engagements, and Website and media promotions. Our approach is to keep conversations going through continuous engagements and contests, to drive brand value. Customer care is one of the key pillars that digital helps in fulfilling customer demands in real time scenarios. There is continuous and meaningful engagement with our Facebook fans and Twitter followers with the objective of reinforcing Aircel’s brand. The focus is clearly to have communication, engagement and contests that resonate with our audience.

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